ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation Grants More Than $7.3 Million to Cancer Research

May 30, 2018

ASCO's Conquer Cancer Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of this year’s Advanced Clinical Research Award, Career Development Awards, Young Investigator Awards, Global Oncology Young Investigator Awards, and Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Research Fellowship. These awards support young researchers with projects spanning all aspects of cancer care, including immunotherapy, carcinoma, lung cancer, and palliative care. The awards will be distributed at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, taking place June 1 – 5.

“Conquer Cancer is proud to recognize and support this group of talented researchers,” said Thomas G. Roberts, Jr., MD, FASCO, Chair of the Conquer Cancer Foundation Board of Directors. “From supporting research projects that rarely see funding to providing that first, crucial research grant to a young scientist, Conquer Cancer is cultivating the next generation of breakthroughs for every cancer, everywhere.”

Advanced Clinical Research Award in Breast Cancer

The Advanced Clinical Research Award (ACRA) in Breast Cancer funds original breast cancer research in an area that is currently not funded. The 2018 Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO/Breast Cancer Research Foundation® ACRA recipient is Mariana Chavez MacGregor, MD, MSc, from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. MacGregor will receive $450,000 over the next three years to further her research project: “Understanding barriers and decreasing the time to chemotherapy in a vulnerable population: Pilot study of a targeted intervention”.

Career Development Awards

The Career Development Award (CDA) is a three-year grant that funds clinical investigators who have received their initial faculty appointment and are working to establish an independent, patient-focused, clinical cancer research program. This year, Conquer Cancer will award 15 CDAs to promising clinicians.

The Young Investigator Award (YIA) is a grant supporting early-career researchers to begin and establish the direction of their research. The award supports pre-clinical and clinical cancer research projects by oncologists who are undergoing a career transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment. Seventy-two investigators will receive YIAs this year.

Conquer Cancer also awards endowed YIAs, which enable Conquer Cancer to support these grants in perpetuity. This year, Conquer Cancer gratefully acknowledges four new endowed YIAs, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Thomas G. Roberts, Jr., MD, FASCO, and Susan M. DaSilva, PhD, and the Generous Supporters of the Women Who Conquer Cancer.

The Boehringer Ingelheim Endowed Young Investigator Award in Gastrointestinal Cancers mirrors Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH’s investment in challenging but impactful areas of cancer research. The inaugural award is granted to Ankur Nagaraja, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to identify new therapies for gastroesophageal cancer.

Underscoring the importance of embracing gender diversity in oncology practice and research, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s award was established to support research by young female investigators. The inaugural recipient of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Endowed Women Who Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award is Rachael Rowswell-Turner, MD, PhD, of University of Rochester Medical Center to study a novel immunotherapy target in ovarian cancer.

Inspired by the meaningful discoveries made by Conquer Cancer grant recipients, Conquer Cancer Chair Thomas G. Roberts, Jr., MD, FASCO, and Susan M. DaSilva, PhD, have endowed a YIA to support young researchers making the discoveries of tomorrow. The inaugural Endowed Young Investigator Award in honor of Grant R. and Victoria A. Merryman is granted to Adam J. Waxman, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania to study comparative cardiac toxicities of novel therapies for multiple myeloma.

The Generous Supporters of the Women Who Conquer Cancer have endowed a YIA to support young female investigators’ research for years to come. The inaugural recipient of the Endowed Women Who Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award is Jessica Yang, MD, of NewYork-Presbyterian and Columbia University Medical Center to study a novel approach to treating metastatic uveal melanoma.

Global Oncology Young Investigator Awards

For the first time, Conquer Cancer is awarding the Global Oncology Young Investigator Award (Global Oncology YIA) to support early-career researchers with projects focused on addressing global health needs when it comes to cancer. In its inaugural year, seven researchers will be awarded with Global Oncology YIAs.

The Gianni Bonadonna Breast Cancer Research Fellowship provides funding to an early-career investigator for their unique work in breast cancer research. The recipient of this year’s fellowship is Clinton Yam, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Supporters*

The 2018 Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO/Breast Cancer Research Foundation® Advanced Clinical Research Award is sponsored by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.